"Revolutionary Figures"

Lord, Madeleine

Fort Washington Park

Before the United States was even a country, George Washington built a
fort in Cambridge that overlooked the Charles River. In a November 28,
1755 report to the Continental Congress, Washington wrote, "I have
caused two half moon batteries to be thrown up, for occasional use,
between Lechmere's Point and the mouth of the Cambridge River." In the
1850s, the fort was made into a city park. Since then the river has been
filled in, and today the fort is almost lost amid the sprawl of
industrial and MIT-owned buildings.

Madeline Lord's sculptural installation features five figures from
two periods in the site's history: its life as a fort and its life as a
park.

Who are these figures and what are they doing here? What is their
relationship to one another? Which historical period do you think each
of these figures represents? Do they give you a sense of what it might
have been like to be a soldier in Washington's army or a Victorian lady
enjoying a leisurely stroll?

Do Lord's figures seem substantial or do they have more of a shadowy presence, like whispers from the past?

In what ways do the figures echo other elements in the park? Do these figures feel like they belong here?

Was Madeline Lord successful in bringing to life this site's rich history?

This is a park that invites you to use your imagination. Imagine that
you are one of Washington's soldiers. Now picture yourself as a
Victorian-era Cambridge resident. What are those different time periods
like? How are they different from modern life? How has use of this site
changed over time? What stories can you create about this site?

What you will need: Paper, charcoal, scissors, tape, glue.

Lord's
sculptures resemble silhouettes, a likeness sketched in outline form
and then colored in. Make your own silhouettes. Have a friend sit in
front of a light source (like a desk lamp) so that the light casts a
shadow of the person's profile on the opposite wall. Ask your subject to
strike different poses. When you find the pose you like best, tape a
piece of paper on the wall where the shadow is cast. Use charcoal to
outline the shadow, then fill in the outline with your charcoal. Cut out
the silhouette and glue it onto light-colored paper.

What you will need: Old newspapers and magazines, cardboard, glue, black acrylic paint, clay or plasticene.

Instead of one sculpture or a painting on the wall, an
installation is a gathering of different elements in a space. When an
artist creates an installation, they think about how the viewer will
interact with all of the different components. Lord's piece is a
park-wide installation.

Make a miniature installation. Thumb through newspapers
and magazines to find photographs of people standing in full-length
poses. Once you have found six full-length figures, cut them out
carefully so that the backgrounds vanish entirely and you are left with
just the figures. Glue your figures onto cardboard, then trim away the
cardboard edges. Paint the front and the back of your figures.

Create a cardboard stage for the figures. Stick the
figures in a clay or plasticene base so they can stand up. How will you
arrange the figures in the space? Do you want to add anything else to
the piece? What is your piece about? Do the figures have a specific
relationship?